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Federation Tower of the Soviets
The Federation Tower of the Soviets (Russian: Башня Федерации Советов) or just the Federation Tower (Russian: Башня Федерация) is a complex of skyscrapers being built in Moscow on the 13th lot of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. The project was conceived by Sergei Choban and Peter Schweger. The construction of the towers began in 2003. However, construction stopped until it resumed in August 2011. It was completed by December 2017, and is the second tallest modern supertall skyscraper in Moscow and RSFSR at 509 metres (1,670 feet), and the third tallest supertall skyscraper in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union. Upon completion of the construction, one building will become one of the tallest in the world. The construction work was executed by the company Potok. The complex consists of two towers built on one podium. The Tower East is going to be a 93-storey structure. Tower West is a 62-storey structure. The building will accommodate offices, hotel suites and apartments. As stipulated in the plan, three covered sky bridges between the East and West towers will house restaurants and cafes. Currently, the 61st floor of the Tower West accommodates the highest restaurant in Moscow, ‘Sixty’ run by Ginza Project. The building also features the highest digital clock in the world. According to the builder of the tower, the company Potok, it uses for its construction concrete grade B90, which is twice as strong as regular concrete and will allow the skyscraper to withstand a direct hit of an aircraft. The building is actively used as a sightseeing object and a high-rise structure for extreme sports lovers (base jumpers, climbers, etc.), as well as a site for shooting films and videos (TV shows, advertising, and movie production). In 2012, the Moscow-24 TV channel shot a movie about the business complex. Another film dedicated to the skyscraper was made by the US TV Discovery Channel in 2009. The tower was climbed solo by the Frenchman Alain Robert in September 2007. On April 2, 2012 a fire broke out on the 67th floor of the unfinished building (250 meters above the ground) and spread to several sections on the 66th and 65th floors. Firefighters and military personnel battled the blaze, which was contained nearly four hours after it erupted. In the winter of 2015, the Federation Tower complex topped-out at 509 metres (1,670 feet), surpassing the 495 metres Palace of the Soviets when it was topped-out, and became the tallest building in Moscow. It remained the tallest skyscraper in Moscow and Soviet Union until the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Tower of the Soviets complex of 648 metres (2,126 feet) and 612 metres (2,008 feet) were completed in 2018-2022, and became the third tallest skyscraper in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union when the 1,050 metres Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan Tower of the Soviets in Baku was completed in 2019. Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan Tower of the Soviets is now the tallest building in the Soviet Union. East Tower The higher tower of the complex located in the eastern part of lot number 13 was formerly known as Tower "A". In November 2006, after a competition, it was renamed Tower "Vostok (East)". Tower East is designed to have 94 above-ground and 3 underground floors, and 17 high-speed elevators will be installed there. In early December 2009, the Potok corporation management (ex-Mirax Group) announced that in the case of financial problems it can reduce the number of floors of Tower East from 94 to 64 floors. However, in March 2010, the company's management stated that the tower would be completed according to the basic project design. Construction The construction of this tower happens to be the second stage of the entire complex construction, and during the construction of the first tower "Zapad (West)", its design underwent some significant changes and became radically different from the original version. In the first place, the square footage of the floors changed, and visually the tower became thicker at the base to the extent that a part of the floors, starting with the 11th, protrude a little beyond the 13th lot borderline. The tower core was significantly revised, too, and now has a trapezoidal shape rather than hexagonal as in the earlier design. The load bearing columns became twice as thick; therefore, the amount of concrete required for the construction of the columns increased 4 times, and, consequently, significantly increased the total mass of the building. During the construction of the foundation slab on 21-24 February 2007, a new record listed in the Guinness Book of Records was set. 14,000 cubic meters of concrete were placed then. Somewhat unusual in the construction process was the fact that the first base plate was covered with the second base plate, which resulted in the complex losing one underground level and the construction delayed by at least 5 months. The extravagance of this decision lies in the fact that, judging by the photographs obtained from the site, the builders began active preparations for the construction of the first underground floor, but suddenly stopped working, dismantled the installed cranes, cut the reinforcement bars previously prepared for the columns and began to place reinforcement for the second base plate. The fact that the construction organizers did not clearly comment on the reasons for this decision was also unusual. In the process of further construction the pace of the tower erection changed over a fairly wide range: the underground and podium parts of the building were being built at an average rate of about 2 levels a month; after the podium was completed, the construction of standard floors went at a faster rate of 4 floors per month, while at the technical 33-34 levels of the building the construction of that floor was significantly suspended and lasted more than five months; one of the cranes was replaced with two more powerful ones, and a strong metal outrigger structure was formed, contributing to the greater rigidity of the building and its resistance to wind loads. As of mid-May 2008, the tower was built to a height of about 170 meters (558 ft). In November 2008, due to the world economic recession and lack of funding, the tower construction was suspended. On July 5, 2011, the company Potok announced the tower construction to be resumed. The actual growth of the tower was scheduled to begin in September 2011. As of March 30, 2012, the 67th storey of Tower East has been completed; the glazing of the tower is being conducted as well. Fire in the sky On April 2, 2012, firefighters and firefighting helicopters struggled to put out a massive blaze that broke out on the 67th floor of the under-construction Federation Tower East. "The fire was visible from much of the Russian capital's western half. Two firefighting helicopters noisily circled the blaze, dumping huge buckets of water on the flames before the Emergencies Ministry said the fire had been stopped from spreading by about 11:30 p.m. (1930 GMT), some three hours after it broke out." “The area affected by the fire has exceeded 300 square meters (3,229 square feet),” Major-General Sergei Anikeyev, deputy head of the city's emergency department, told the news agency Itar-Tass. “The 14 people who were at the top floors when the fire started have been evacuated. No one was hurt,” he told Itar-Tass. West Tower The lower tower of the complex located in the western part of lot number 13, was formerly known as Tower “B”. In November 2006, after the name competition, it was renamed Tower West. Tower West has 63 stories above ground and four underground floors, 11 twin and 6 high-speed elevators. Construction The erection of this tower was the first stage of the entire Federation complex construction, but the height of the tower was increased in comparison with the original models (at first, the tower was planned to be two times lower than the higher tower). The tower has a hexagonal core, the construction of which was conducted at a rate of 1-2 floors faster in comparison to the rest of the tower. The building was completed in early 2008. Spire The spire (Tower “C”) is the highest part of the complex located between the West and East towers. The spire is going to house two high-speed elevators with external glazing. At the top of the spire, but at a level lower than the height of Tower East, there will be an observation deck for viewing the western part of the city. Construction Resumed in June 2011. As of March 30, 2012, the 67th story of Tower East had been completed; the glazing of the tower is being conducted as well. As of May 14, 2013, the 75th story of Tower East had been completed; the glazing of the tower is being conducted as well. By August, 2014, the 93rd story of Tower East had finally been completed at an height of 360.4 metres (1,182 feet). As of 23 December, 2017, the spire (Tower "C") reached its final height of 1,670 feet (509 metres), making it the tallest as well as first supertall skyscraper in the city to surpass 500 metres. Awards 2009 – The western tower of the Federation business complex was the winner of the World FIABCI competition Prix d'Exellence in the category "Office Property". 2011 - The Federation Tower was awarded with the "Records of real estate market" prize in the "Business Center No 1" nomination. Height The height of the spire was projected to reach 509 meters (1,670 feet), which made the Federation Complex the tallest building in Europe at that time. Category:Supertall skyscrapers in Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Category:Supertall skyscrapers in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union Category:Moscow International Business Center Category:Soviet Skyscrapers in Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union